


Duty To One's Family

by AHeartForStories



Series: AHeartForStories' Febuwhump 2021 [5]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: FebuWhump2021, Febuwhump, Gen, Guilt, Nightmares, Take me instead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:02:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHeartForStories/pseuds/AHeartForStories
Summary: Written for Febuwhump Day 5. Set during TP. As Ordon Village's designated big brother, Link has always been the one to look out for the village children and keep them out of trouble. But then King Bulbin came along and shattered that for all of them.
Relationships: Beth & Link, Colin & Link (Legend of Zelda), Link & Talo (Legend of Zelda), Malo & Link
Series: AHeartForStories' Febuwhump 2021 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137413
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Duty To One's Family

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Febuwhump prompt: "Take Me Instead"
> 
> First LoZ submission to this month-long challenge. I'm happy that I managed to write another Zelda fic.
> 
> Constructive criticism is appreciated.  
> Enjoy!

_The woods of Ordon have always been quiet, they have always been peaceful. Though, very few in Ordon ever dare stray too far from the safety of the village, the woods outside of their home have always had a comforting atmosphere to them._

_But they are quiet now, restless, scared in a way. It's like the wind brushing through the trees brings with it a foreshadowing message of trouble and darkness._

_Always so in-tune with the forest and the life that thrives within it, the changes have reached Link and they unsettle him greatly._

_But wait, why is he standing in the woods? In the Ordon Spring to be exact? He's sure he's meant to be doing something, but what? It's on the tip of his tongue and yet it alludes him at the same time, like a memory he just can't grasp no matter how hard he reaches._

_There is something wrong, he can feel it in his gut. "A warrior's gut" Rusl used to call it, but Link never considered himself as one._

_His gaze lifts and the skies above him darken. A storm? No, it's something different, something darker, something he has never seen before, separate from his world and yet inseparable._

_There is the snorting of an animal behind him, he turns to find the gates leading out of the spring and the inky blackness behind them. There's a strange orange glow to it._

_It's twilight, he somehow knows._

_Before it stand three large boars with riders and they stare down at him with red eyes. They are armed and their dark green skin blends ominously with the darkness behind them._

_And in their arms?_

_The children._

_Horror fills his heart and the clouds darken above them as the wind grows._

_They are pale and unconscious, limp in the arms of their kidnappers, who silently stare and stare at him._

_How? When?!_ _Was he not looking? Was he not doing his job as their big brother?_

_Shaking his head, he wants to step out of the water, but he can't move, he's frozen, his feet won't move, and he feels like this isn't the first time._

_The Bulblins take their leave, turning their boars to disappear into the blackness and taking the children with them._

_Colin, Beth, Talo, Malo, all of them. Even Ilia._

_Link wants to call out their names, tell their kidnappers to stop and come back, but his words are stuck in his throat and his hands won't sign them. They tremble uselessly by his side. Is staring all he can do?_

_Maybe, he can't at least force the words to come._

_"Don't..." His voice is but a whisper as he wants to beg them to stop this. If not through his hands, he talks very little, but never have the words felt as heavy as it did now._

_"Take me." It's the first full sentence he manages, despite its short length._

_"Take me instead!"_

_He shouts, but they don't listen._

_"Take me!"_

_They disappear into the twilight._

_"No, take me!"_

_They're gone._

* * *

"No!"

Though a quiet young man, Link's shout wakes Midna up as well. Her eye peeks out of the darkness, narrowing his way.

He's sitting beneath a tree as trekking through Hyrule without Epona has been a tiring endeavor. He hadn't meant to fall asleep like this, he'd simply wanted to sit for a little while and rest his legs until he could make the rest of the journey. Now it's night and hours have passed.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Midna tells him as if he can help it that he had a nightmare. She doesn't bother leaving his shadow to see if he's alright after that fright, simply peeking out of the darkness to scold him from there.

Though he glances at her, Link doesn't respond and simply looks away instead. Midna says a lot of things, a lot of hurtful things, and he would rather not hear any of it in this state of mind.

He wipes at his eyes to find them wet and his heart aches, not such a surprise after the nightmare he just had.

The kids have been on his mind, they are on his mind. Every hour of every day, with every step he takes and every enemy he slays, they are constantly on his mind.

To Colin, to Beth, to Malo and Talo, he is their big brother. He is the one who keeps them out of trouble, who separates Talo and Colin when the former picks on the latter again. He's the one to keep them safe, the one who gets them out of the trouble they do find themselves in. He's the one they look up to.

Ever since they were very, very little, he's always seen it as his duty. They are family, after all, and family looks out for one another.

He was there when Colin and Ilia were taken and he was the one who did nothing. He was frozen, barely able to even move, and by the time he could, it was already too late. The guilt is more than he can bear.

And they expect him to be a hero? He feels undeserving, inadequate.

Link looks at his shadow, finding the eye gone as Midna must've retreated. Did she catch onto his want to be alone? She's usually not that observant. No, wait, she is, she just usually doesn't care.

But he's been sitting here and resting for much too long and he should get going. Sleeping underneath a tree isn't going to help him find the kids. He stands and grabs the sword and shield he'd placed beside him to unburden his back.

Crossing Hyrule is a long trek to make, especially on foot, so the sooner he gets going, the sooner he can reach the twilight-covered Eldin province.


End file.
